High Times in Humboldt
by Annichka
Summary: She was the gorgeous, self-assurered co-ed. He was broke and struggling with the isolation of college in a small northern California town. Will her weed operation help him pay tuition or suck him into an underground lifestyle of the criminal variety?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, see SM for that.**

**If you are offended by drug references, are younger than 18 or take any of this too seriously, look elsewhere. This story is going to be a fun but realistic look into a subterranean lifestyle that is terribly intriguing to me and not entirely unknown. Before you ask, the answer is no. I don't have any weed I can sell you.**

**Summary:**

She was the gorgeous co-ed who ran with the cool crowd. He was broke and struggling with the isolation of living in a small northern California college town. Will her Humboldt weed operation help him pay for tuition or suck him into an underground lifestyle of the criminal variety?

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

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><p>It was her again. My insides started to get the butterfly feeling that I noticed the last time saw her. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply to see if I could catch her scent from across the aisle. A nearby cough distracted me from my creepy quest.<p>

I try to feign interest in my work again but I'm drawn to her. She obviously didn't have the homework load I had, considering her reading choice. Her thick, dark hair slumped over her hand and was hiding the side of her face as she bent over her magazine on the third floor of our university library. The rare sunny day streaming through the bank of windows gave her hair a luminous quality and the floating dust particles around her were mesmerizing me. She turned the page and shifted positions slightly and I found myself locked in place and staring directly into her brown eyes.

Her left eyebrow quirked up into a challenging "What are you looking at?" and that's when I realized I was staring at her at her like an infatuated prick. I startled and knocked the binder I was holding onto the floor. In my clumsy effort to save it from falling and busting open-I kicked over the Pepsi I had hid on the floor next to my foot.

"Jesus, I can't catch a break," I mumble under my breath. I hear numerous students around me look up from their various napping positions and textbooks to shush me. The napkin left over from the bagel I snuck in this morning did nothing to sop up the soda on the carpet. I decide that a quick vacation of the premises was my best hope to avoid her disgusted glance.

Nope. Too late.

She snorted at my flustered efforts to avoid embarrassment and swung her weighted backpack over her shoulder. She shoved the magazine back into the rack and as she passes my table I hear a distinct "dumb ass" slip from her lips.

Oh good. I made an impression.

Once there was no chance that she would come back, I moved stealthily across the aisle and reached out to grab the magazine she was reading.

_High Times_. Huh. I hadn't pegged her for a pothead.

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><p><strong>AN This idea has been floating around my head for sometime now and I just wanted to see if there are any fans of the concept out there. Not sure how long it will be but I do plan to write a few more if you like it. What d'ya think?**


	2. Ch 1: Welcome to Humboldt

**SM owns it all. I'm just playing with her characters.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Welcome to Humboldt<strong>

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><p>There were a million reasons for me to leave my hometown of Seattle and very little to keep me there. My first two years of college were spent at Seattle University.<p>

It was a small private Catholic college with a stellar business program and soccer team. It was also expensive and very close to home. I didn't have some messed up home life that had me running away. I just needed a change.

Ever have the feeling that you are floating through life without a purpose? I did. A chance introduction to Humboldt State over Spring Break last year, made me think I found that missing link.

Tucked away between the ocean and the Redwoods was a stunning little greenbelt that felt like home the first time I stepped onto campus. The wet air and laid back atmosphere had me at hello.

"You know son, I think that girl is wearing pajama pants and slippers," my mom whispered to me during the family orientation program. "You sure you want to come here? I thought college guys like hot girls."

She had a humored glint in her eye and I was shrinking of embarrassment because the girl turned around in her desk like she heard every word.

"I'll be fine. Thanks for your concern though," I said.

She was feeling a bit lost with my decision to move. My mom liked to think she was really independent, but in a lot of ways I've felt like an excuse she used to hold her back from moving on with her life. My parents divorced during my senior year of high school and although several years have passed, she hasn't even hinted at an interest in dating again. It was a shame really. She was very pretty and smart and had a sarcastic wit that most found entertaining. I frequently found it embarrassing.

A graduate student shared with a crowd of approximately 150 students and parents about what life was like at Humboldt State. By the 20th reference to "green" and "socially responsible" my mom started making gagging noises. It was going to be good to put some distance between us. I couldn't take her anywhere.

"You know if there is any good surfing here?" my mom asked as she unloaded my board from the back of her Subaru.

"Not sure, but I saw that someone had a wetsuit hanging up in the dorm bathrooms earlier today so I thought I would keep it just in case."

I heaved my oversized backpacking pack onto my shoulders and carried the board into the building. My mom and I spent the rest of the day unpacking my room and shopping for necessities to fill up my tiny refrigerator. It wasn't until over dinner that she started getting sad.

"You know what I'm going to miss most?" she asked. "Watching you play. You are so stinking graceful on the soccer field. Makes me proud to sit on the sidelines and watch you, Edward."

She ruffled my hair. I felt a pang of guilt to be leaving her like this and a little bit of a void knowing that soccer wasn't going to be my focus any longer. It was time to focus on a career and move on from those high school dreams of playing professionally someday.

"You'll be fine, mom. Besides, there is always Beckham."

She laughed.

"Yeah," she sniffled. "There is that."

I spent the rest of the day and all weekend getting my bearings. At nearly 8,000 students, Humboldt was roughly twice the size of Seattle U. The town of Arcata was quaint with a fair bit of culture mixed in. Not knowing anyone yet gave me ample opportunity to soak up Humboldt life.

There was a bit of a fascination with patchouli and dreads – which wasn't terribly unusual coming from the Pacific Northwest. A prolific arts scene was on display in full force in the town Plaza on Saturday evening and so I spent a little time roaming around from shop to shop and enjoying the live music and free appetizers.

I imagine it was meant to entice people to buy art. I used it as an opportunity to scrounge a free finger-food dinner. The appeal of augmenting my cafeteria diet with Ramen was already wearing off.

During the daytime I spent my weekend wandering the area looking for nice spots to sight see and hike. In the nearby seaport town of Trinidad I noticed a few promising alcoves that drew local surfers. So far the weather was perfect for surfing but I kept hearing references of long wet winters with torrential rains and grey skies.

The other big topic that dominated conversations in Humboldt: Pot.

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I recall hearing about how the cool coastal climate was perfect for growers. But I never had a clue as to how prolific the industry was in Humboldt County.

Apparently there are a zillion ways to refer to marijuana, and I must have heard the majority of them in my first few days on campus. Forget about reefer and Mary Jane. We are talking about ganga, bud, chronic and purple haze. Seriously. Who knew so many people found this shit interesting? In town I actually saw what I assumed was a homeless person holding up a sign that said, "Why lie? I need money to buy pot."

By Sunday I just want to tell people to get high and move the fuck on. I came here to go to school and I just wanted to start hearing people focused on _that_.

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><p>I haven't slept great since I arrived just over a week ago. Since the evenings have been warm, I decided a run might help me sleep better.<p>

During the soccer season I used to run five to ten miles a day depending on what route our captain chose. Not joining the team at Humboldt was a deliberate decision on my part, but I already missed the camaraderie. For the past eight years soccer has been the center of my universe and since a professional career was unlikely, I joined the ranks of former athletes.

Pounding the pavement behind the university, I found the path that my roommate suggested. The community forest literally butted up against the campus. I passed all the dog walkers and disc golfers and was about two miles in before the trail was swallowed by the massive redwoods. I slowed and found stump to rest and take it all in. There must have been thirty shades of green represented between the fern fronds that padded the forest floor to the moss climbing the trees. I decided the peacefulness was the part I loved the most.

By the time I got back at the dorm my elusive roommate had returned.

"Hey, Jasper. I was beginning to think I was rooming with your dirty laundry," I teased, kicking off my shoes. His clothes had begun to smell up the room and no amount of Febreeze was clearing the air.

Jasper was sitting on his bed which was surrounded by a mountain of laundry.

He pulled one of iPod buds from his ears and set his text book aside.

"Yeah, well, I have been staking out the biology lounge," he said. "I saw this hot little mama selling coffee there on the first day of school and I'll be damned if I have seen her since. "

I laughed. Jasper was a sophomore and a young one at that.

"I heard someone mention that females outnumber male students here two to one," he went on. "I'm just trying to get a jump on the inventory before all the good ones are snapped up."

"Well with those odds, Jasper, even you should be successful eventually," I offered.

My jest was lost on him and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's what I'm counting on." The ear bud made its way back into his ear effectively cutting off any further conversation.

I wanted to ask him when he intended to clean up his crap, but I figured I would wait a bit before I started nagging him. I grabbed a clean towel from the closet and hit the showers.

By the time I returned Jasper was out cold. No chance of getting him to clean now. His laundry was seeping into my space and so I kicked a few pairs of his dirty boxers over to his side of the room. Milling about I did a double take when I noticed that the framed photo of my mom had made its way over to his night stand.

"What the fuck?" I said under my breath. I returned it to its rightful place and tried not to think about what the hell he was doing with her picture.

**A/N: Ewww. Jasper is a bit of a perve apparently and not the ideal roommate for our Eddie. ****If you are curious about Humboldt, Google it. I find it fascinating, otherwise I probably wouldn't write about it. Humboldt State and all the places I mention in this story are real. The people however, are not. Just keeping it real.**

**Bella is coming up in the next chapter though so give a shout out if you are looking forward to it. Chapters are going to be short but frequent and I know how people appreciate frequent. Review me!**


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